Sherlock Holmes
Skills Sherlock is a detective first and foremost and this is where the majority of his skills are apparent. His most apparent ability is that of a keen observer, there are very few details he misses and in the space of a few seconds he can likely divine whatever facts the casual observer would miss completely. Even if he cannot see the truth in the minor details he can quickly assume a part, play ignorant, make wild accusations and suggestions and say whatever he needs to say to get people to talk and reveal themselves or whatever they might be hiding. Some people appear to be shocked by his abilities and would akin it to magic, although Sherlock adamantly calls it a learned trait that other people are too stupid to bother to do themselves. It is actually probably closer to what Mentalists use in piecing together information, such as cold-reading and so-called mind-readers, except instead of adding fancy lights and a stage Sherlock applies it to crime scenes and whilst saying he isn't one for showmanship he really cannot resist showing off if there is an audience (especially one involving people he doesn't like if it proves them wrong). His weakness in this respect is that he constantly desires to prove to people how clever he is, as though he believes his only value is in his brain and intelligence, his constant need to show off reveals something of a boastful ego that can easily be turned against him, particularly when he underestimates his opponent and overestimates his own abilities. However his observational skills would be completely useless if not for his extremely high capacity for factual recollection at a moment's notice. He studies keenly on all and everything that relates to the world of crime and what he believes is useful, everything else is simply pushed out and 'deleted' from his 'hard drive'. He actually uses a method of mind training used to recall the vast amounts of information stored in his head, he has created a 'mind palace' where he can store almost everything he needs from things as simple as names to entire catalogues of books. It's an extremely extensive library of information and he has been using it regularly for about twenty years so the location is very familiar to him. He can access it very quickly but if something is particularly difficult, actually accessing deeper rooted information requires him to journey through the palace to find the hidden away data so it isn't necessarily the speediest thing in the world. Occasionally Sherlock hasn't been quite fast enough in his cases and people have paid with their lives. Sherlock is also a very talented boxer, he attended Oxford and was a part of the Oxford University Amateur Boxing Club where he was awarded the Blue for his contributions to Varsity Matches. It is the highest sporting commendation available to amateurs which also gained him access to the Vincent's Club, a private club for Oxford University students who hole the Blue only. He was offered position of Club President which he turned down due to only being interested in the techniques of boxing itself rather than the glory that came with it, he also suspected the position was offered due to his brother. As a boxer Sherlock's style can mostly aptly be summed up as that of the counter-puncher, though he regularly mixes his fighting styles to confuse and gain the upper hand. His strength mainly lies in using his opponents mistakes against them and being a lighter opponent he relies more on speed and stamina. A larger opponent is always going to be a problem for Sherlock, as would anyone stronger than a human. As well as boxing Sherlock excels at martial arts, they appealed to his ordered mind as a gentleman's fighting technique. He has his most advanced ability with Bartitsu, which is a hybrid of fighting styles such as jujutsu, schwingen, savate, canne de combat, Judo and boxing, it allows not only the strongest elements of martial arts themselves but also encourages creative use of everyday objects such as sticks, clothing and more. Sherlock also studied Jujitsu but has no formal levels, however he does hold a 1st degree in Judo. He also spent some time in India where he learned the martial art of Adi Murai, within this is the art of the Varma Adi which is the use of vital pressure points upon the human body to render an opponent dead or simply disable them by applying pressure to certain parts of the body. This skill however only works on humans and Sherlock rarely requires it's use even so, he prefers to settle problems using his mind over violence, it is merely a defensive technique he has some knowledge of. He is also a capable fencer, is perfectly comfortable with a gun in his hands, and isn't above beating corpses with a riding crop if required for scientific purposes. He is also a little bit stronger than the average human, so much so he once bent a fire poker back into shape after being threatened with one when his opponent bent it out of shape in a display of aggression. As well as physical strengths Sherlock is a certifiable genius, he is incredibly clever, very cunning and has a sky-high IQ, which whilst not serving him quite as well as his brothers intelligence, is nevertheless enough to propel him into levels of eccentricity and above the realms of the average human. However Sherlock isn't a genius at everything he does, he excels in the realms of crime and puzzle solving but outside of that he is a fish out of water. He doesn't care to put things he doesn't think are important into his head to waste space in there which means he is incredibly ignorant about a lot of things normal people consider important or common knowledge. This occasionally means he entirely overlooks very simple things simply because he doesn't 'get' them, be it references to pop culture icons or things as simple as the solar system, if Sherlock doesn't think it's important it doesn't register in his head. He is also a very capable musician and favours the violin, he believes it clears his mind and to some extent it also allows him to express any emotions he may be struggling or unwilling to reveal otherwise via original compositions. Aside from his obvious inability to behave in a social settings, his obvious lack of regard for the rules, his weaknesses in regards to recreational drug use there is also the fact that his skills are not infallible. Particularly in a world like Pandora which is full of things that were impossible to exist in the world he came from. Sherlock learns fast of course and he already has a fair understanding of many new things previously beyond his reach, this is still a major blind spot to his deductions a lot of the time though. He also has a tendency to get carried away by cases and his love of a case tends to be the downfall of his health. The harder he thinks the less care he takes of himself, on the contrary when he isn't thinking at all he seems to care even less for his body or what he calls 'transport'. He really doesn't treat himself well because all he values is inside his head, it means he has a tendency to hurl himself into situations that can fast get over his head. He also seems to struggle to apply human emotion into his cases and views them objectively without care for those involved, he is improving slowly on this but he still comes across as callous and heartless, meaning he manages to get on the wrong side of people very quickly once their use to him has ended. This being said the greatest weakness Sherlock Holmes has is that he isn't remotely as cold and heartless as he would have you believe. There are few people who truly ever get close to him, so few he could count them on one hand but once they are in there he would lay down his life for those people. Finally despite all his apparent intelligence and factual recall and observational abilities he seem to have very little regard for his own life and thrills when it is put in jeopardy (though he will always maintain he has a complete grip on the situation). Personality As with his appearance Sherlock's personality is inter-changeable depending on whatever situation has arisen and often depending on who he is talking to and his opinion of them. He can play a part as well as any actor and be thoroughly convincing to those who do not know him as well as a little alarming to those who do know him and are watching the charade. He can seemingly switch these different 'personalities' on and off at will and has no compunctions against switching them around until he finds the one that works in his current situation. He doesn't care if he manipulates people or offends them or frightens them and Sherlock will do anything to them so long as he gets whatever information he needs. Everything he does is always for a reason and usually in pursuit of the truth with no regard to how it is found out. On the surface he displays the ability to at least act as though he has emotions and mimic them with a great degree of success to fool others, though he can turn these emotions on and off like a switch when they are either wanted or not needed. His general attitude towards the world is one of superior arrogance, egoism and an impatience for suffering fools. He acts as though he has no interest in making friends with people, he shows little regard for his own safety, let alone other peoples, and is regarded by most of his peers as a 'psychopath' waiting to happen. He rather proudly denies that label and has applied a different one to himself when people demand one of him; high-functioning sociopath. He does display a great number of sociopathic tendencies, recklessness, lack of remorse, he uses people, irresponsible, falsely charming and a constant requirement for external stimuli, however it would be entirely inaccurate to medically define him as a sociopath despite this. In actual fact Sherlock is very much capable of emotion, remorse, sadness and a number of other emotions. However he has learned that these emotions hinder his ability to function at a higher intellectual level required for his work, so he simply ignores them completely and rarely allows them to get in the way. Occasionally they sneak out in a brief expression here or there but most recently in the last three months or so his attachment to one John Watson clearly reveals he has the ability to, at the very least, care about another individual. When it comes to the subject of friends, Sherlock tends to keep things very close to his chest and only talks of them as a last resort or when he can't simply charm his way out of the conversation and the subject has arisen. He doesn't have very many friends (about three actual friends in total) and the few he does have he doesn't treat very well, not purposefully but often because kindness simply never occurs to him. He has slowly begun to change for the better over time though. His friendship with John Watson has allowed him something of an insight into how normal people function and what is considered acceptable and unacceptable behaviour by them. John has proven to be something of a guide and Sherlock often uses him as a gauge for his behaviour now, like a human moral compass. He still considers allowing himself to be close to people and develop relationships with them as a gross betrayal to his intelligence and nothing will ever convince him that allowing people close is anything but a weakness. He is, however, a little more willing to admit he doesn't mind people and can at least recognise when he has done something wrong and hurt people. Whether he apologises and admits it out loud entirely depends on the situation and often the person involved. Sherlock might be softening slightly with John's help but he's still stubborn and he still values his intelligence and work above his relationships with people. Speaking of relationships though, Sherlock has recently gone through something of a difficult shift in orientation. Having believed himself to be asexual for the majority of his life, or rather professing that love is a weakness (something he still believes) and choosing not to engage in it, Sherlock eventually developed deeper feelings of attachment to John. Although confused for some time he has now accepted that he may in fact be demisexual or demiromantic, though he is uncertain of which as yet due to the fact that he is still uninterested in the former. This means he could only ever develop feelings once a very deep emotional attachment had been made to someone, something he has for John. That being said Sherlock still puts work and cases above their relationship to the point that everything goes on hold whilst he is occupied so that his mind will not be distracted from what he considers is important. Despite their arrangement he still only treats John marginally better than anybody else and remains very emotionally immature. Sherlock is also extremely fussy, single-minded and has something of an addictive personality disorder. He rarely does anything without completely throwing himself into it all and one addiction, if removed, is often replaced with another, be it cocaine, cigarettes, cases or whatever. Sherlock will also only ever take on a case if it interests him or poses a potential difficulty that would test his skills and mind to the limits. He is not interested in simple murders and he believes the local law enforcement can handle those easy enough. Common murderers are of no interest to him at all and he requires a puzzle or a mystery to keep his attention, this often leads him to rudely dismissing people when they are already in emotionally fragile states. He enjoys pushing himself and has a habit of rooting out whether a case is of any interest to him at all by directly going for the throat rather than politely stepping around something, he very quickly comes to his decisions about taking a case or disregarding it entirely because it's too straight cut for him. It the case is too simple he deems it boring. With a tendency to stagnate when nothing interesting is happening Sherlock then turns to other forms of entertainment which varies from shooting smiley faces into the walls, conducting bizarre experiments with severed heads in his fridge and in his past, recreational drug use. Though clean for three years Sherlock nevertheless has an addictive personality disorder, cases are his drug now and his lifeline and without them he begins to go stir crazy out of sheer boredom, which usually results in his snappy mood swings and a sharp and restless temper. It should probably also be noted that Sherlock's mind is a constantly whirring machine that requires use and entertainment. When it lacks these it has a tendency to start ripping itself apart inside his head, which often leads to incredibly childish tantrums, erratic behaviour and a kind of explodable mad energy surge. Sherlock also completely disregards, and is entirely oblivious, to many things deemed 'pop culture'. He had never seen James Bond until John Watson made him watch it, he generally finds such things beneath him and undeniably dull and he is spectacularly ignorant on a great number of topics he thinks are irrelevant, solar system included. This isn't to say however that he completely lacks charm, a scattered number of people seem to like him despite his eccentricities and remarkably difficult nature, the trick is not to take it personally. He appears to be entirely unaware of his behaviour abnormalities but in actual fact he is aware he has them, has no interest in changing and simple chooses to ignore anyone who has a problem with it. He can be charming if he wants to be but people have to be worth his time for him to be bothered so this doesn't earn him many friends. The few friends he does have seem inexplicably willing to go all out for him, and to them he makes at least some small effort to being sociable. When he's in a good mood he is hyperactive, excitable and so enthusiastic he can sweep people along in his wake. Charming and exciting Sherlock in a good mood is usually always pleasurable company. Likewise when he's not in a good mood he reverts to childish sulking, temper tantrums, pouting and demanding attention which can try even the most patient person. When he's feeling particularly vicious he snipes at people, picking at their faults and weaknesses in an attempt to arrogantly show off and this is the side that doesn't earn him any favours. Appearance Sherlock's appearance at a first glance is usually whatever he wants to appear as being, depending entirely on the situation at hand and who he is talking to. As a baseline he is naturally tall standing at six foot one inches and is excessively lean, which can fool the eye into thinking he is taller still. Physically he is not skinny but in fact well-toned enough to indicate he could probably hold his own and pursues an active rather than sedentary lifestyle, though his weight and condition tend to fluctuate slightly depending on mood and whether he has remembered to stop and eat or not. Starting from the top he has very dark brown hair in a shaggy-curled style that he clearly takes no interest in. He has sharp intelligent grey-blue eyes that seem to bore through people rather than casually observe them. His cheekbones are noticeably pronounced and his lips have a distinct 'bow' shape to them instead of being thin-lipped or straight. Sherlock is semi-conscious of the fact that he has a long neck and tends to cover this with scarves or high collars and avoids wearing a tie at all costs. His clothing tastes are usually slightly untidy looking, though are in fact usually a designer brand, for example, his slightly shabby and worn looking blue scarf is a Vintage Paul Smith, his well-used and rarely seen without trench coat is a Belstaff, his shoes are Yves Saint Laurent and all his shirts and either Spencer Hart or Dolce & Gabbana. Having such expensive designer brands may seem to conflict with Sherlock's obvious lack of interest in the fashion world, however he believes that in order to be taken seriously he has to look the part as well as be the part. People would have little respect for him if he turned up in an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt and so he tactfully affords himself the luxury of fashion merely in the interests of gaining cases rather than any internal vanity. On the other hand Sherlock is also very tactful at altering his appearance to suit a case and whilst he doesn't resort to prosthetics or make-up, instead he becomes a performer in costume and actions only. Whether it is impersonating an art gallery security guard or simply pretending to be a camp metrosexual next door neighbor who has locked his keys inside his flat to gain entry to an apartment complex, Sherlock's appearance changes with the mere shift of his body, tweak of voice tone and alteration of a facial expression. Relationships Sherlock spent the majority of his life believing he was asexual and having zero interest in any kind of relationship. Out of sheer curiosity he tried a few things through University but was proven correct and called off his personal experiment before it got anywhere and adopted the belief that caring would only cloud his judgement and bias his opinion. It wasn't until he came to Pandora and was subjected to a number of experiences beyond the realms of anything he would have experienced in London that Sherlock was given his first taster of what it was like to allow himself to care about someone. His natural curiosity led him to pursue the idea further in the only person he had ever gotten along with for any length of time, John Watson . After developing a very deep emotional bond with his friend through their shared Pandora experience so far, Sherlock now identifies as demi-romantic/sexual and though the word 'relationship' has never expressly been used between them, he is unquestionably in one with John . Sherlock has very limited friendships in Pandora, currently they extend only as far as Molly Hooper, who he trusted enough to let in on his fake death and requested her help. He also expresses an interest in using Raz Aquato's skills to assist him and has been considering using him for networking in Pandora. Other friendships he made during his time in Pandora have all been severed by their mysterious disappearances. History Sherlock was born the second son of Siger & Violet Holmes, his brother Mycroft, several years his senior, was always his intellectual superior much to younger Sherlock's chagrin. He grew up with a spirited mother, her mother and grandmother had been bohemian french artists, a spirit that Violet Holmes had in spades. Siger Holmes was not a large presence in Sherlock's childhood as business kept him away and he, like Sherlock's mother, tended to unashamedly favor Mycroft when he was around. Mycroft was always effortlessly clever, and being the several years ahead he was his achievements were always a first and were more remarkable. Sherlock however simply trailed along in Mycroft's wake, desperately trying to keep up with his big brother and starved for small attentions that he had to work twice as hard for to gain any recognition and prove himself anywhere near Mycroft's league. The family were well off and lived in Kensington, London. Sherlock believes his childhood is generally a dull and pedestrian one, he went to school, he came home from school, he was placed two classes ahead of his age (but was uncredited with such an achievement because Mycroft had already achieved this so now it was simply expected of Sherlock to follow), he later joined secondary school three years early and was regarded as being something of a genius, however his intelligence would always be shadowed by that of Mycroft, who was ever the golden child. For many years of his childhood, the reverential treatment Mycroft was given by their parents led Sherlock to be in awe of his older brother, he followed him around like he was the be all and end all and constantly strove to be that good. However the older he got the more awe and desperation to please became envy. Sherlock would occasionally act out as a cry for attention, jealousy began to manifest itself in bickering and arguing with his older brother, at least until Mycroft would assert his size and authority over the smaller Holmes brother and Sherlock would sulk and mope until his mother paid him attention because he was making too much noise or mess to be ignored and being told off was at least being noticed (a trait that would follow him into adulthood). That being said he nevertheless still envied and looked up to Mycroft as a child. Sherlock had always been intelligent and intuitive, his mother had a love for mystery novels which he would filch off the shelves in the library and spend his lonelier hours reading and immersing himself into fictional adventures. For three entire years he would, whenever asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, announce very proudly that he was going to be a pirate. However as sweet and innocent as his childhood was there was always something not quite on the ball with Sherlock, this side began to manifest itself more strongly after the death of his mother. Sherlock's interests began to graduate curiously towards the sciences and eventually he became that kid who would fry ants with a magnifying glass then investigate the charred remains and take notes. He was the 'weird kid' who the others would bully and mock. It did bother him but without a mother to cry to, he simply took what he got and was never so affected as to change himself as he grew up. Mycroft always watched over him and with multiple reassurances that there was nothing wrong with him, he decided there must be something wrong with everyone else then. An attitude he still retains somewhat today. By age fourteen he had cultivated an interest in science and after reading Edgar Allen Poe's Detective Fiction stories of C. Auguste Dupin he became fascinated the idea of becoming a Detective himself. Poe's analytical intelligence caught Sherlock's imagination and he began to apply himself similarly. It started with Mentalism and though he attitude suited that of a showman it wasn't the tricks he was interested in rather the method. Even as a young teen he began to take the concept of cold-reading to a brand new level. He was practically a walking lie detector. His reading habits, when not of Poe, were of chemical formula and theories of crime detection and solutions, by fourteen Sherlock could take one look at your shoes and tell you where you'd been three days ago and probably what color your socks had been. His first actual experience of a crime scene had been the case of Carl Powers who drowned in a swimming pool in his area. He knew there was something wrong with the case as the boys shoes were missing but being so young he couldn't get his case across to the Police to make them listen and Mycroft kept steering him away from trouble (years later he would solve the case when Moriarty pushes it back his direction). A few years after that Sherlock discovered the skeletal remains of a homeless man in an abandoned warehouse two miles from his school. Locating a wallet with the name 'Arthur Stevens' inside, Sherlock attempted to find the man's family but was unable to do so. Seeking someone to talk to, Sherlock instead removed the man's skull and promised him a better life than he'd led prior to his death; a sixteen year old Sherlock kept the skull on his mantle piece and would in future bounce ideas and theories off it when he had no one else to talk to...or at. He attended Oxford University and studied crime, forensic investigation and policing. He also joined the fencing team and did some amateur boxing. His life through University was less than wonderful, his education was excellent but the company was not, once again Sherlock was a social misfit and an outcast, ridiculed by his so-called 'friends' and treated as a 'freak' and a 'psychopath'. It hurt him far more than it ever had a child and it was at this point that he adopted the term 'sociopath' for himself. Mycroft continued to be a nuisance in his life and omniscient big brother figure watching over him, ever shadowing him and making him feel small and unimportant with how well Mycroft could integrate and how poor a job of it Sherlock did. It was in seeking an escape that introduced him to the world of drugs. A few acquaintances had links to drugs that could apparently make you think faster, better, sharper and ever eager to improve himself, Sherlock fell into a habit. This lasted for two years at University before he graduated and stopped, deciding to start himself off as a Private Detective when the idea of a rigid and strict lifestyle working under someone else didn't appeal. Initially this completely failed and at his lowest point Sherlock returned once again to drugs, though this time his choice was Cocaine, whereupon after being picked up by a Chief Constable Lestrade, he was let off with a warning after convincing the man he wasn't high as a kite. With some unwanted assistance from his brother Mycroft after a near fatal overdose, Sherlock was able to kick the habit (which instead he transferred to smoking and eventually nicotine patches) and returned to work. However this time he called himself a Consulting Detective. It took five years before anyone began to take him seriously and it was only when a policeman he had known for that length of time had become a Detective that he was able to begin working with the met Police and with Detective Lestrade's team when they were out of their depths (all the time in Sherlock's opinion). By 2010 Sherlock was highly successful at his work and was introduced by a mutual friend to one John Watson, a retired army surgeon who within twenty-four hours of meeting Sherlock had a shot a man dead to save his life and was strangely still willing to go into a flat share despite this. Over the course of a year Sherlock developed a fondness for having John tag along on his cases and began to prefer bouncing ideas off him rather than the skull he had once used. This connection to another human being was quickly noticed by someone who had been watching Sherlock's blossoming career with interest, Jim Moriarty. After a series of tests and 'games' Moriarty finally kidnapped John, strapped a bomb to his chest and lured Sherlock into a trap at the swimming pool Carl Powers had died at, almost convincing Sherlock, for a brief second, that his faithful sidekick was in fact Moriarty himself until Moriarty made an appearance). The last thing Sherlock saw was several little red laser dots from sniper rifles covering himself and John and with an unspoken agreement that to kill Moriarty at the cost of their own lives would be worth it. Sherlock's finger was poised upon the trigger to blow the swimming pool, Moriarty, John and himself sky high when he felt strange vine like things take hold of him and drag him downwards. The next thing he saw was Pandora... Pandora History